Allen Crabbe

Lot of focus on Cal-UNLV being a rematch of the Rebels’ one-point win in December. But let’s not forget the teams also played in 2011-12, and UNLV rolled (by 17 points) in Sin City.

The rosters are similar enough that the Dec. ’11 game remains relevant.

* In the two games, UNLV outrebounded the Bears 84-67. Included in their total: 26 offensive rebounds.

Cal will have to do a much better job on its defensive backboard Thursday afternoon.

* UNLV point guard Anthony Marshall has given the Bears are sorts of problems, with 35 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in the two games. He’s big (200 pounds) — too big for Brandon Smith and troublesome for Justin Cobbs.

* How will Cal defend UNLV freshman Anthony Bennett in the post?

And will Richard Solomon/David Kravish/Robert Thurman be physical enough to keep the 240-pounder from powering his way to the rim?

* 5:36 p.m.: Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir has decided to bring Johnny Dawkins back for another season, with the expectation that Stanford reaches the NCAA tournament. Muir said the combination of Stanford being so close to getting there this season and a solid returning core is what convinced him to give Dawkins another chance.

* 3:45 p.m. update: Stanford just announced Dwight Powell will return for his senior season. If we assume Chasson Randle and Josh Huestis also come back and Anthony Brown is healthy, the Cardinal should be picked to finish in the top 3/4 of the Pac-12, again.

Action: Cal loses to No. 10 seed Utah in Pac-12 quarterfinals.Reaction I: We figured there was a good chance at least one lower seed (No. 6-12) would advance to the semifinals, but not the Utes. No way, no how.Reaction II: A bad, bad loss for Cal, but not a knockout blow. The Bears will still make the NCAA Tournament, although given their performance in the final two games — losses to teams (Stanford and Utah) that would not make the at-large field — the Bears have no doubt slipped a seed line or two. I’d be mildly surprised if they end up as a No. 12, or a First Four participant, but stranger things have happened. Like losing to Utah.

Was swamped with National Signing Day assignments last week, which makes this the first local rankings since Jan. 29.

How things have changed.

Okay, maybe the situation isn’t dramatically different than it was a fortnight ago, but both Stanford and Cal have experienced notable upticks.

In fact, the Bears and Cardinal have become, in some respects, mirror images:

Both beat then-league leader Oregon, both managed surprising splits in the desert, both have RPIs in the high 50s, both are 6-5 in league play, both have nine overall losses … and both need to get hot and stay hot in order to have a chance of sneaking into the NCAA tournament.

Cal’s win at Arizona was nothing short of stunning, especially in the way the Bears took control early in the second half and never wilted.

Allen Crabbe was better than he’s ever been and, given the opponent and location, as good as any Pac-12 player has been all season.

Plenty of college football coverage coming this week — something’s happening Wednesday, right? — but we won’t forget about basketball.

In fact, we’ll start the week with it …

Action: Cal beats Stanford 69-59 in Berkeley.Reaction I: It was closer than I expected.Reaction II: Cal had a sound defensive plan and executed its rotations, double teams, etc., very well. (It was also smart to put Stanford on the line 27 times.) Yes, the Bears struggled offensively against Stanford’s length, except when it mattered. At that point, the Bears scored 12 points in less than three minutes (from 6:50 mark to 3:59) to take control.Reaction III: Stanford was tougher than it has been in recent trips to Berkeley, an encouraging sign for the Cardinal — and there aren’t meany for a team that has lost three in a row and has seemingly entered a familiar state for Johnny Dawkins’ program: midseason stagnation.

I’ll have a look at the Pac-12′s NBA Draft prospects in the next 48 hours, along with an assessment of the conference’s options for its television network.

For now: Quack.

Action: Oregon releases hundreds of pages of documents Monday as part of public records request — all stemming from the potential NCAA investigation into recruiting practices (i.e., Willie Lyles).Reaction I: While I wouldn’t call it a bombshell, one piece of information — unearthed by the Oregonian and the Eugene Register Guard — raises serious questions about Oregon’s motives: The recruiting information on 2011 recruits, for which the Ducks paid $25,000, contained no information on 2011 recruits. So why pay Lyles all that money? Was it, in reality, compensation for Lyles having steered recruits to Oregon? The Ducks had better have a rock-solid explanation when the NCAA comes a-knockin’.

The conference is expected to announce its award winners and all-league teams today, perhaps before lunch (if all the coaches get their ballots submitted on time).

Here are the Hotline projections for who will win the various awards and who should win — because Pac-10 coaches have made some questionable calls over the years. (For instance: The 2010 POY should have been Stanford’s Landry Fields, not Cal’s Jerome Randle.)

*** Coach of the YearWho will win:Arizona’s Sean Miller. Took a team picked to finished second and won the title — not exactly a jaw-dropping accomplishment, but coaches tend to based their COY voting on who wins the regular-season title. (The far greater accomplishment, in my mind, is how Miller has returned Arizona to a place of relative prominence two years after taking over a sinking ship.)